Joe Belgio is 44 years old, a Marine veteran and retired firefighter from Cicero, Illinois.
On June 30, 2025, he went to dinner with his family at Gibsons Steakhouse & Bar, in Oak Brook. He ordered oysters. Hours later, his heart stopped. He was without oxygen for at least eight minutes, until he was resuscitated by the same fire department where he worked for years.
According to his family’s lawsuit, he contracted two dangerous bacteria —enteropathogenic E. coli and Plesiomonas shigelloides— present in the seafood. He fell into a coma and, more than a year later, remains hospitalized, with severe brain damage and in need of permanent care. His fiancée, Melanie Stayer, recalls that they had just had a five-month-old daughter when everything fell apart. The restaurant denies responsibility and says it has no evidence of having caused his condition.
